subject: Desert Lakes And Sandy Seas [print this page] Do not much like to fly? Perhaps the delights of Namibia will convince you. A great deal of the best of this spectacular, vast land of contrasts is only readily available by air. There's nothing quite like touring low around the limitless stretches of parched scenery following behind a herd of black rhino or a quick fly-by of a dozing flock of flamingos amid the desert sands.
Wedged between the Kalahari and also the southern Atlantic, Namibia is a chance to discover the spirit of this wide-open region and discover the wilder side of Africa, exactly where only the sporadic roar of a lion or cackle of hyena punctuates the silence from the night.
A short, comfy air travel south from the capital, Windhoek, takes you into the ochre stained lands of Sossusvlei, a rather inhospitable clay pan surrounded by some of the greatest sand dunes in the world. Deep within the desert of the Namib-Naukluft Park the perfectly massive rusted waves of sand simply plead to be climbed, and also the view from the top is well really worth each and every slippery step of the 300-metre trek. The sun rises and literally runs over the well-defined peaks throwing transient patterns and shadows into a kaleidoscope of changing colours and textures.
The richness of these ancient oxidized sands lie in huge distinction to the glistening white land that expands across the heart of the Etosha National Park.
Here a fly-in safari offers the original bird's eye view through an unconventional safari automobile gliding just over the land in search of wildlife. And in spite from the dazzling whiteness of Etosha's dry pan, it's home to a surprising selection of wildlife, that provides a firsthand view at the absolute magnificence of nature's survival strategies.
One hundred thousand years ago, the some 8,598 dry and cracked square miles that make up northern Namibia's Etosha National Park were awash with water. A shifting continent turned the rivers and sent them flowing toward the Atlantic. Now all that remains is a dusty, salty dried-up lake, which shimmers vaguely greenish-white like a land-locked sea.
Amid the hauntingly arid desolation of the largest, but somewhat unfamiliar game park in Africa, hundreds of species of animals and plants not only survive, they flourish. And when the dusty clay soaks up the heavy rains of the wet season, a shallow inland lake reforms and draws thousands of wading birds. Pelicans and flamingoes congregate within the shimmering waters, although larger creatures, such as lions and buffalo gather along the edge of the rapidly diminishing lake, as the iridescent sands from the pan appear to blend into the cloudless sky behind them.
